Tohono O'odham Papago Pine Needle Basket Collection, Six Pieces

A grouping of six contemporary Tohono O'odham (Papago) coiled baskets from the Sonoran Desert tradition, worked in pine needle, bear grass, and yucca. The lot includes two open-form vessels — a striking dark-stemmed jar with a flared opening and radiating cream yucca stitching, and a tall waisted vase with a graceful gourd silhouette — alongside a smaller squat olla and three lidded coil baskets in varied sizes. One lidded form features purple and yellow decorative cross-stitching around the rim; another carries a zig-zag accent line worked in dark fiber.

Tohono O'odham basketry from southern Arizona is among the most active living basket traditions in North America, with weavers coiling bear grass bundles wrapped in split yucca leaf around a foundation. The pine needle and split-stitch techniques shown here reflect generational practice passed through family lines on the reservation lands south of Tucson. The lot offers a useful range of forms — closed lidded containers, open vessels, and a sculptural tall vase — suited to display as a grouping.

CONDITION

Good overall. No damage to most pieces; slight damage noted on the tall vase and the small open basket shown at top of the arrangement, with minor fraying and loose fiber at the rims. Coiling remains tight and structurally sound across the lot.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Open Vessel: 2.5" × 4"
• Tall Waisted Vase: 4.5" × 5"
• Small Olla: 3" × 6.5"
• Lidded Basket (with lid): 2.25" × 4.5"
• Lidded Basket: 2" × 3.5"
• Lidded Basket: 4" × 4"
• Origin: Tohono O'odham (Papago), contemporary
• Materials: Pine needle, bear grass, yucca